Age and Sex Estimation from the Human Clavicle in the American Population, 1912-1938 and 1986-1998 (ICPSR 25901)

Principal Investigator(s):
Langley-Shirley, Natalie, University of Tennessee;
Jantz, Richard L., University of Tennessee;
Mahfouz, Mohamed, University of Tennessee

Summary:

This study investigated skeletal maturation and gender dimorphism in the human clavicle in the American population. Biological data were collected on two skeletal collections: the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection and the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection. Size and shape data were collected from computed tomography (CT) scans of the McCormick clavicles. Several automated measurements were taken on 1,413 McCormick clavicles, including three traditional and six non-traditional measurements (Dataset 1). A total of 593 individuals from the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection (Dataset 2) and 354 individuals from the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection (Dataset 3) were scored for medial clavicular epiphyseal fusion using McKern and Stewart's (1957) five-phase rating system.

This study investigated skeletal maturation and gender dimorphism in the human clavicle in the American population. Biological data were collected on two skeletal collections: the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection and the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection. Size and shape data were collected from computed tomography (CT) scans of the McCormick clavicles. Several automated measurements were taken on 1,413 McCormick clavicles, including three traditional and six non-traditional measurements (Dataset 1). A total of 593 individuals from the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection (Dataset 2) and 354 individuals from the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection (Dataset 3) were scored for medial clavicular epiphyseal fusion using McKern and Stewart's (1957) five-phase rating system.

Access Notes

The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public.
Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

Study Description

Citation

Langley-Shirley, Natalie, Richard L. Jantz, and Mohamed Mahfouz. Age and Sex Estimation from the Human Clavicle in the American Population, 1912-1938 and 1986-1998. ICPSR25901-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2014-06-19. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25901.v1

Universe:
Individuals from the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection (Datasets 1 and 2) and individuals from the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection (Dataset 3).

Data Type(s):
observational data

Data Collection Notes:

The report "Age and Sex Estimation from the Human Clavicle: An Investigation of Traditional and Novel Methods" (Shirley, 2009; NCJ 227930) references 341 males aged 16-33 years from 1950-1952 Korean War fatalities as being included in the study's analyses. Users should be aware that the quantitative data for this group of clavicles are not available as part of this ICPSR data collection. However, raw data on the McKern and Stewart Korean War Dead are available from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville at http://konig.la.utk.edu/paleod.htm.

Users should be aware that a slight case count discrepancy exists between the data reported in the Sex Estimation section of Chapter 3 of the report "Age and Sex Estimation from the Human Clavicle: An Investigation of Traditional and Novel Methods" (Shirley, 2009; NCJ 227930) and the data provided to ICPSR. The report cites 1,414 individuals analyzed from the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection. Dataset 1 contains 1,413 individuals.

Users should be aware that a slight case count discrepancy exists between the data reported in the Medial Clavicular Epiphyseal Fusion section of Chapter 2 of the report "Age and Sex Estimation from the Human Clavicle: An Investigation of Traditional and Novel Methods" (Shirley, 2009; NCJ 227930) and the data provided to ICPSR. The report cites 594 individuals analyzed from the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection. Dataset 2 contains 593 individuals.

While the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection is the data source for the McCormick Measurement Data (Dataset 1) and the McCormick Medial Clavicular Epiphyseal Fusion Score Data (Dataset 2), records in these two datasets cannot be linked because they do not contain a common identification variable such as an anonymized forensic case number. ICPSR added the CASEID "CASE IDENTIFIER CREATED BY ICPSR" variable to each dataset available as part of this data collection. The CASEID variable is a unique, sequential identifier in each dataset; however, it cannot be used to link or merge datasets.

As part of this study, the principal investigator did not collect measurement data on the Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection.

Methodology

Study Purpose:
The three purposes of the study were to (1) compare traditional methods of clavicular age and gender estimation to novel approaches, (2) develop modernized criteria for estimating clavicular age and gender, and (3) examine secular maturation trends associated with the medial clavicular epiphysis in 20th century American adults.

Study Design:

Biological data were collected on two skeletal collections: the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection and the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection. The William F. McCormick clavicles are housed at the University of Tennessee in the Anthropology Department. This documented autopsy collection consists of approximately 2,000 clavicle pairs from 1986-1998 autopsies in East Tennessee. The Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection is housed at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The collection consists of skeletal remains from approximately 3,000 cadavers autopsied between 1912 and 1938.

The William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection Measurement Data (Dataset 1) were collected from computed tomography (CT) scans of 1,413 clavicles. Several automated measurements were taken, including three traditional and six non-traditional measurements. The traditional measurements were maximum length, sagittal diameter at midshaft, and vertical diameter at midshaft. New measurements included maximum midshaft diameter, minimum midshaft diameter, maximum and minimum diameters at the medial end of the shaft, and maximum and minimum diameters at the lateral end of the shaft.

The William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection consists of approximately 2,000 clavicle pairs from 1986-1998 autopsies in East Tennessee. For the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection Measurement Data (Dataset 1), a total of 2,145 clavicles were scanned, but only individuals 28 years of age and older were used in this study, as growth is completed by this age. In addition, fractured or otherwise pathological clavicles were omitted from Dataset 1, resulting in a final sample size of 1,413 individuals. For the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection Medial Clavicular Epiphyseal Fusion Score Data (Dataset 2), a subset of 593 McCormick individuals aged 11-33 years was scored for medial epiphyseal fusion.

The Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection consists of skeletal remains from approximately 3,000 cadavers autopsied between 1912 and 1938. For the Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection Medial Clavicular Epiphyseal Fusion Score Data (Dataset 3), a subset of 354 individuals aged 11-30 years were scored from this collection.

Presence of Common Scales:
Individuals sampled from the William F. McCormick Clavicle Collection (Dataset 2) and the individuals sampled from the Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection (Dataset 3) were scored using McKern and Stewart's (1957) five-phase rating system, with 0=unfused, 1=beginning fusion, 2=active fusion, 3=recent fusion with a scar, and 4=complete fusion with no scar.

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: